Beyond High Society
by writergal32
Summary: Anyia has lived in High Society all her life. It is all she has ever known. When her uncle suddenly decides to stop sending money to her family, Anyia must move down to Poverty where she meets a strange girl who shows her the world is not what she thought it was like. (Not actual Les Miserable Characters just similar ones)
1. Chapter 1: Anyia

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable from Newsies or Les Miserables!**

_Year 1899 _

My mother rushes into my little sisters room and scoops the baby into her arms saying soothing words. I sit in the library of our mansion and read a book I am working on for school, The Absent Student on Friday, a mystery book. I have been reading for an hour capturing every word. My mother comes in with my sister Karen. She seems frustrated about something.

"Anyia, can you please put your book down and go out into town and grab some more milk. I am afraid we have run low." I nod slightly and set the book down on the wooden polish coffee table. I go to the kitchen where our cook Mrs. Roberson is stirring something that smells delicious. I grab a basket off the table and head out the door. The day is a warm spring day, the grass as green as ever, the flowers in bloom, the smell a bit like honey and a dash of peppermint. The slight breeze makes my hair flow back. It's in a long blonde ponytail on the side of my head. I pass many people on my walk. Mrs. Flounders, a plump woman with brown short hair in a yellow hat, matching her yellow dress, is busy taking her small poodle on a stroll, a typical sort of thing to do in High Society.

"Anyia my darling! How are you? I haven't seen you in a while," a voice calls from behind me. I turn to see Lizzie Darswell, a skinny young girl my age, with a fancy puffy dress, a cream color with splashes of gold and brown all around, walks swiftly towards me waving her parasol in the air. I smile at her as she approaches, "It's nice to see you too. I am just on my way to the market place to get some milk for my sister." She smiles sweetly, "I do love your young sister, she is a joy for your family, isn't she? How's your mother?"

"She's been getting along. Ever since my father left, she's been much more protective, asking the gates men to make sure that there are no entries for people from," I pause and look around, "The Lower societys." I whisper. She nods her head, understanding what I say.

There are 3 different levels here in New York. High Society is for the, what others would call, rich, snobby, people. The next Level is Lower Society. Those are the people who aren't as rich as High Society, but can still pass by with food on the table. The last level is what they call Poverty. Those are the people with nothing. No food or money. The mayor makes sure that they have small houses to live in, but that is about it. They all despise the higher levels. To know who is who, the mayor had a huge gate that surrounds the whole High Society part of the city. Gates men guard it at all times so no Low Society or Poverty can get in and steal things. Every once in a while a person from Poverty or Low Society get in and steal things from houses. Another thing they split up is the markets; there is a market for High Society and a market for the other two levels.

"Well, I too am going to the market to buy a few things while my servants get ready for the mayor. He is coming to my home tonight for dinner you know?" she says making me look up in amazement. "You must feel very proud of yourself." I say. She smiles satisfied at what she hears then asks, "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not." I reply. We walk together down the sideway enjoying everything around us. A carriage trots by and an old man, Mr. Meckler, waves at us. "Well, he's finally back. I'm afraid he's in for a shock. Last night someone broke into his house and stole his china from the cabinet!" Lizzie whispers as we walk away. I look at her astonished. "How terrible, the poor old man. His wife must have been terrified!" I say.

The market comes into view, the smells of fresh bread, honey, peppermint, spices, and other wonderful things filling our noses. I smile and walk to the dairy store while Lizzie Darswell leaves off to the bakery. A bell rings when I enter. Mr. Crochet looks up at me and smiles. "More milk for the little one?" he asks in a jolly voice. I nod and he walks into the back room. He is a plump old man, with striped pants and a plain white shirt with an apron over it. His head is bald except for the sides, which are a gray color. He comes back and hands me the carton. I take it and place it in my basket. "How much is it this time?" I ask grabbing my bag from the basket.

"I am afraid the price has hired to 89 cents a carton now." He says his voice sorrowful. I smile and say, "That's quite alright." I hand him the money and walk out. I walk swiftly, eyes set on getting home, when a police man bumps into me.

"I'm very sorry madam." He apologizes.

"That's quite alright," I say and try to walk past him, but he puts his arm in front of me. "Would you happen to know where the Lexington's live? I must speak with the Mistress of the place." I feel fear run through me. "Actually that's me. Well, my house. I'm Anyia Lexington. If you'd just follow me." he nods and I walk towards my house. People stare at me questioningly as we walk. A shiver runs through me. This couldn't be good. When a policeman wants to talk to you, they usually get thrown out of their home. _That wouldn't happen to me, would it_? I ask myself as we walk.

I remember the Wall family who got a letter from their father, saying he had been fired and fled. They had no other way of getting money and had been thrown down to Poverty. I shudder at such a thought. The policeman must just be checking in on us. That's all. I look ahead and see my house come into view. My home, the one I had lived in my entire life.

I walk up the steps, and open the door, letting the policeman in. He nods, thanking me. Mrs. Dodgson, our cleaner lady, is dusting a vase when we enter. She gasps quietly and whispers, "I'll go get Ms. Lexington."

"Thank you," I say and turn to the officer, "Would you like to sit down?"

"No, thank you. I am here on important business," he answers sharply. I take a slow step back.

"Officer Langton? You asked to speak with me?" My mother enters with Mrs. Dodgson holding Karen, close behind her. Officer Langton walks to my mother swiftly pulls a letter out of his pocket and hands it to her. My mother takes it gracefully and opens it. I watch her eyes scan over it, widening with every new line. Her gasp echo's in the silent hallway.

"This can't be right Officer. I, I just talked with him about this a few days ago. This can't be right. I, I don't believe this," her words all came out at once.

I talked to him about this? Talked to whom? About what? I thought staring from my mother to the officer, then back at her.

"Well, that's not what the letter says, is it? I'm afraid he wants you to leave immediately. He is taking over and will be sending someone here in a few days." The officer grabs my mother' arm and she begins to scream. Mrs. Dodgson quickly exits the room covering the baby and I run to my mother. I yank the officer's hand back, "Leave her alone! What are you doing?" I scream.

He turns to me and grabs both my arms, "This house isn't yours any longer Anyia Lexington. You are going to be charged for crime if you don't leave immediately. We will inform your servants, don't worry about that. Follow me." He yanks me forward and I cry out in pain.

"That was not a request. You will follow." My mother starts to sob and Mrs. Dodgson walks over to me and places the baby in my hands. The police lets go of my arm and turns toward the door and walks out where a carriage waits for us. My mother sobbing, and I holding the baby, follow him out. He opens the carriage door and motions us to get inside.

I look around and see people watching on the street, through their windows, and behind trees. We're leaving, and everyone is shocked. I never imagined this would happen to me. My mother steps into the carriage and puts her hands in her lap. I turn to have one last look at my home, the home that was no longer mine. Turning I step into the carriage and place my sister on my lap and the carriage door slams closed.

I look out the window and I see some of our servants watching. Mrs. Dodgson, Mr. Kleve, Samuel Tank, Lisa Marrow, and Matthew all stare at us. They walk forward with pillows and a few other small things and speak with the officer quietly. He nods and they open the door and set the things down on the ground. Without making eye contact, speaking, or anything, they all hurry towards the house. I hear the driver grab the reins and the carriage takes off down the street.

When we get to the gate I look back at High Society. Tears fill my eyes as I look at the familiar area. My eyes make contact with Travis Simmons, a dear friend of mine, the boy whom I hoped to marry someday, and I turn away and burst into tears as the carriage goes through the gate.


	2. Chapter 2: Anyia-Amy

**(Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable from Newsies or Les Miserables!)**

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We pass through Low Society in a few minutes and I begin to cry again. This can't be happening, I try not to scream as we start to go down an alleyway, From High Society down to being with dirty stealing thieves!

I glance out the window and see some poorly made houses lined up next to each other. Some of the roofs are made of straw, some just flat clay roofs, and I am sure the houses are made out of clay too, or something that can easily collapse. Beggars sit next to their houses talking, but lung into the shadows when the carriage comes by. I see a little boy, probably 6 or 7, eating a rotten apple core on his roof and watch us with cold, sad eyes, his clothes ripped and stained. I look down at Karen and shudder at the thought of my sister eating rotting food.

The carriage stops at a small home with a flat roof. It is one of the only houses with actual windows. The door is coming off its hinges and the left side of the house is connected to another house. They are two separate houses, I notice, but are connected by the wall.

The carriage door is pulled open and my mother stiffly gets out. She waits by the door and holds out her arms for Karen. With Karen in her arms, I realize I have to bring in all of the pillows and blankets and the other things out that our servants gave us. With things piling over my head, I manage to get out of the carriage.

"Wait a moment," Officer Langton calls and I hear him walk over to my mother. I hear her short gasp then her voice speaking disgusted, "What are these?" Officer Langton laughed, "These are your new clothes. We don't usually give skirts and dresses to Poverty, but we decided to be kind. These are your pants and shirts and these are you skirts and dresses. You should be thankful. Not very many have dresses around here. Not very many people have as much clothes as we have given you around here," the officer had lowered his voice but now he spoke loudly, "These are for you babe and now for the grand finale, this is your house!" I hear his footsteps and so I walk forward peering from around the things in my hands. I step inside the doorway of the house.

It is a one room home, with a curtain to split the bedroom from the rest of the home. There is no bathroom, and the kitchen is a very sad piece of junk to look at. I set the things down and look around. There is a hole in the left wall, where the two houses connect. An eye that was peering in quickly disappears.

My mother furiously turns to Officer Langton, "This is not right! None of it! We should at least have gone to Low Society! Not here! Girls don't wear pants! They are for boys and there is no bathroom! Where do we get food, water, and other necessities? How am I going to feed my baby?"

Officer Langton smiled, "Ms. Lexington, you don't even have a dime, so you can't go to Low Society. Here girls wear pants unless they have something else because it is a dirty place. And if your daughter here goes to find a job, she will want the pants. Low Society doesn't give the easy jobs to Poverty. The toilet is in the outhouse in the back, you can get water from the river, and you will have to find a job or make this girl here get a job to buy food. Or you can dig through trashcans, your choice."

Officer Langton grabs some pants and a shirt and throws them at me. "Get changed back there and since I doubt your poor mother will do any work," he smiles at my mother's shocked face, "I will find you a job. Now go!" I run behind the curtain to find two beds side-by-side with no sheets or pillows. I take of my dress carefully and set it down gracefully on the bed with tears in my eyes. Putting on the shirt and pants I pull the curtain open and step out. I see my mother's eyes widen in digust. Officer Langton walks over to me and grabs my arm. "You may sell your dress for money if you like. Now come with me."

I hear my mother start to sob as the officer closes the door the best he can and walks straight down an alleyway. "Watch where we are going, because you are going to have to remember it from now on," he says looking forward. We turn left then right, then another right. I try not to make eye contact with the people watching. One man gives us a toothless grin and takes his hat off his head bowing. Officer Langton shoves him aside and keeps walking.

"What was your name again?" he asks looking at me. I look at the ground, refusing to look at anything else and whisper, "Anyia." From the corner of my eye I see him nod, "Your name is now Amy, alright? If people hear your real name, they will know you were from High Society and they will hurt you, steal from you, or worse." My eyes widen and I hop over a pile of junk on the ground. A loud cackle fills the air as a women walks over to the junk smiling slyly at us.

I finally look up and see at the end of the alleyway, light, a street, a town. I look at Officer Langton, waiting for him to explain to me where we are, and what to do.

"This here is part of Low Society," he grins when he sees my face light up a bit, "Do not get too excited miss, you aren't getting any job that's easy, like baking bread or working in a clothing shop. No ma'am. Ah there it is," he said turning me down past some stores, "You are going to be working there. They always need workers there and it's the only place where they only hire girls. You will not see things like that every day." I look ahead and see a huge pit full with mud and straw. Girls are stomping around in it, mud splattered all over them. One girl looks up from the pit and smiles with a twinkle in her eye. She is very skinny, with long brown hair pulled back in a sloppy pony tail, tattered clothes, and bright blue eyes.

"Mr. Power! Mr. Power! Where are you?" Officer Langton releases my arm and searches around. An old man, with gray hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, and a big, dirty white shirt and brown trousers walks out of a little shack by the pit with a tight frown, "What is it now Officer?" his eyes land on me and he grins, "I am in need of another girl. One just," he pauses, "left us the other day."

Officer Langton shoves me forward and I stumble towards Mr. Power. His grin broadens and he leads me to a ladder to get to the mud pit. I go down the ladder and land in the gooey mud. I look up and see that Officer Langton is gone. I turn and look at all the girls who stare at me with mean smiles. I gulp and join in with the girls stomping in circles. The girl who had smiled at me before I got in the pit glances at me and smiles. I look down and try to not make a face about the mud. Suddenly there is a huge shadow in front of me. I turn to see a huge girl standing behind me smirking at me.


	3. Chapter 3: Ep

**(Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable from Newsies or Les Miserables!)**

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_Girl's P.O.V. _

The new girl interests me and I watch her as she climbed into the pit. She had no idea what she was in for. The pit is where girls stomp around in mud to make bricks that Mr. Power, the owner, sells. Girls come in not expecting anything, and a lot of them leave, scarred for life. Some have even died stomping around for hours with hardly edible food.

She makes eye contact with me and I smile. She looks down and I realize there is something different about her. Before I can think about it, big, fat, Marcy Bull shoves through the mud and stands right behind her. The girls face looks terrified and I actually feel bad for her. I haven't felt bad for anyone for a while, it is a strange feeling.

"Well look what we have here girls," Marcy's annoying voice booms around the pit and everyone stops stomping and stares. Marcy is smirking at the girl and I know what will happen. Jenny, Angie, and Miranda go and surround the girl and I wince. Not again. The girl starts to breath hard.

"What's your name girl," Marcy spits out and the other girls cackle. Two other girls Alyson and May and I glance at each other. The girl mumbles something. _Amy? Did_ _she_ _say_ _Amy?_ Marcy turns to us and smiles, "Her name is Amy," looking back at Amy she says darkly, "Get her."

The girls close in and shove Amy to the ground and shove mud in her mouth. Her scream reminds me of something, someone. I run as fast I can through the mud and grab Marcy's arm and yank her away. She flies back and lands on her rear. I shove the other girls away barking, "Stop it you idiots!" They scatter away like birds and I look in pity at the girl. She looks up at me innocently and I groan. I better not go too soft on her. I yank her up and she wipes the mud off her face. Looking at me she says in a small voice, "Thank you." I nod and turn motioning her to follow.

xxx

_Amy's P.O.V._

The girl begins to stomp and I follow her. "That fat lard sitting on the ground all grumpy is Marcy. Don't mind her." Marcy growls at the girl's comment and stands, but does nothing. She points at the other girls, "That's Angie, Jenny, Miranda, Alyson, and May. And I'm Ep. Welcome to the mud pit." Ep turns to me and gives me not so sweet smile.

"Your name is Ep?" I blurt out, and then bite my lip. Ep frowns and nods, "Like up but with an E." She turns and continues stomping and I follow her. She turns her head slightly towards me, "Where are you from? I've never seen you around here before." My heart stops and I start to panic. "I'm from outer New Jersey. We moved out here after our" I pause thinking, "store went out of business." Ep seemed to like that answer.

"Well hello mud girls!" a voice called and all of the girls looked up. A boy with blonde hair and a bag of newspapers around him stood at the top of the pit and grinned. All the girls groaned. "Get out of here Anders. We's workin', "called Jenny and then smiled.

"Who is he?" I ask and Ep frowns, "Just a newsie boy. There are tons of them all over the New York. They sell newspapers. You should know what a Newsie is, shouldn't you?" I nod. We had a few in High Society.

"He's the first to come by of many," She stops and turns her ear towards the boy, "and here they come now." I listen and hear several voices ringing through the air. Before a minute passes there are nearly 30 Newsies standing in front of the pit. Leading the crowd of boys is a young man, about my age, staring down at us smirking. He's wearing a white shirt with a vest over it, a bandana tied around his neck, and a cowboy hat resting on his back. His hair a lighter brown color, going down to the bottom of his ears. His blue eyes rest on me and he grins.

"Would one of you like to buy a newspap today? We've gots some good stuff," he moves his eyes from me to the rest of the girls in the pit. Jenny smiles and starts to twirl her hair. I look at Ep, her face in a tight frown. She steps forward, "Nope. Not today, not ever." The boy gives her an annoyed look, "I wasn't talkin' to you Ep. I was talkin' to these lovely ladies who like readin' our newspapers." Ep rolls her eyes and glances at the other girls. They are smiling, all eyes on the boy.

"They can't read you idiot now get out of 'ere Cowboy or all yer papers will be in this mud!" Ep spits out the words like she just swallowed a bucket of mud. The boy's eyes narrow and all the Newsie boys stare, some of their faces slightly grinning. The so called "Cowboy" walks to the very edge of the pit and glares at Ep.

"No wonder you work 'ere. You're just as dirty and cold as this mud." the boy sneers and a few Newsies snicker behind him.

That must have triggered something because before I know what's happening Ep has a handful of dirt. She chucks it at the boy and it hits his newspapers he's holding perfectly. The Cowboy's face looks shocked and he throws the newspapers to the ground, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE? I JUST PAID A LOT FOR THESE OL' NEWSPAPERS." Ep smirks at him and the Cowboy looks as if he is going to jump in the pit and give her a punch in the face. His eyes flash to me and the anger floods right out of them. He picks up his papers and turns around. The rest of the Newsie boys follow, flashing grins towards the pit which makes me uneasy._ Why are they smiling?_

"Who was that?" I ask looking at Ep and hear snickers from the other girls as we continue to stomp. Ep looks at me, her face still in a frown, "His names is Jack Kelly, or as some people call him, Cowboy," she mimics the last part and smirked to herself.

"He's there leader, even though he always denies it," Alyson says stomping over to my side. I raise an eyebrow at her, "Why does he like being called cowboy?"

"He didn't ask people to call him that! They call him that because," Jenny hisses, but Ep interrupts her, "He always wears a cowboy hat? Yeah, that's the reason." She stomps a little in front of me and Alyson.

"As if you know the reason he wears a hat. Oh wait, maybe you do." Marcy stood by the ladder smiling her mean smile and Ep whips around staring at her. "Shut up you tub of fat lard," her voice cuts the air like a knife and Marcy's eyebrows rise in anger.

"Hey look who it is! Hello Marcus!" Jenny screams and runs to the ladder and climbs up. Marcy, Angie and Miranda quickly climb, more like run, up the ladder. Alyson gasps and her and May turn and look at Ep. Ep's face is bright red and her eyes are wide open in anger. Running through the mud she scrambles up the ladder and May, Alyson, and I run after. When I reach the top I see a tall boy with brown hair, nicer clothes, (not quite as nice as High Society, but nice enough) holding a book in his hands, his face starting to turn red as the mud pit girls scream, holler, whistle, and attempt to flirt with him. Ep runs over to the girls and starts shoving them backwards. Marcy and Jenny both fall into the mud pit, but Angie and Miranda fall into a huge pile of straw.

"Marcus!" Ep hollers and runs over to him and starts to talk with him. He seems shy and looks like he feels awkward talking with Ep. I feel sorry for him. May grabs my arm and pulls me back towards the pit. "That's Marcus, Ep's friend. More like her lover actually." I let May pull me back towards the pit and start to go back down the ladder.

"They like each other?" I whisper to May as we come close to the ladder. May shakes her head, "She likes him, she loves him, but no one knows if he likes her. No one really knows him. All we know is she has forbidden us to flirt, talk, or whisper to or about him. That's why all girls always do that. They are gonna get it when Ep gets back though." I slide down the ladder and join the rest of the girls stomping in the mud. May stomps by me and we talk together for a moment before we hear Ep slide down the ladder. Everyone stops and watches her.

Ep stomps over to Jenny and shoves her on the ground and sits down on her. "Whaddya think you're doing?" she screams and grabs a handful of mud. She is about to slap it on Jenny's face when a croaky, cracked voice cuts through the air, as Ep's had when she was talking to the Newsies. "EP! GET OVER 'ERE! WE NEEDS YER HELP!" Everything seemed to freeze at the words. Ep leaped off of Jenny and scrambled up the ladder. For the first time, I see Miranda and Angie look like they actually feel sorry for Ep. I turn to May for an explanation.  
"That was Ep's pa. Almost 3 to 4 times a week he comes and gets her from the pit and says he

needs her 'help'. Sometimes she doesn't come back for the rest of the day and sometimes the next." May shakes her head and continues to stomp. "We always have to make up excuses for her or else Mr. Power will fire 'er. The only reason he hasn't fired 'er yet is because she always comes to work. Well, mostly," I look at the ladder where Ep had scrambled up in such a hurry. She had looked scared.

Right then, Mr. Powers door creaks open and he appears at the top of the pit. "You needs more straw," he says and walks over to the pile Angie and Miranda had fallen in. He shoves straw down the pit then puts his hands on his hips. "Where's Ep?" he demands looking at each of us.

"Probably the bathroom the big lazy bag of manure." I am surprised to see Marcy answer the question. Everyone nods and Mr. Power scratches his head, "Stupid girl. She's gonna pay fer this. Tell 'er she'll not get 'er nickel today." May nods and I follow her lead. Mr. Power eyes look at everyone then he coughs and says, "Today I don't need you anymore. You'll have to get your own lunch. Come up 'ere and get you moneys." A stampede suddenly appears as everyone races to get to the ladder. Marcy is the first one up, then Jenny, Angie, Miranda, and then Alyson. May stops at the ladder and turns to me, "Go ahead and go first."

"Thank you May." I climb up and May follows me. I approach Mr. Power cautiously and stick out my hand, like all of the other girls. Mr. Powers squints his eyes at. "This is your first day and yous expectin' pay?" I gulp, but don't put my hand down. Mr. Power laughs and drops a couple coins into my sweaty palm.

"Thank you Mr. Powers," I say and I see him look a little startled. Too proper. I turn and walk down the street. I guess I should get familiar with this town. I turn my back from the alley that will take me to my new home/shack and head down the street where everything is alive unlike the alley. I see Alyson a little ahead of me so I run to catch up with her.

"Alyson!" I call and she turns and gives me a friendly smile. "Hi Alyson. I don't really know my way around town, so would you mind if I walk with you?" Alyson smiles at me, "Of course Amy, but before I show you around, we are going to want to get cleaned up." I had forgotten that I had been smashed with a lot of mud. Alyson leads me to a small building that says CLEANHOUSE on it. We enter the building and a bell rings. An old man with white hair and a short beard turns at the sound of the bell and smiles at the sight of us.

"Welcome to the Cleanhouse. Go ahead and clean yourselves up over there." He points towards a room and we step in. There is a pump with a bowl underneath it and two towels. Alyson starts to pump the water and smiles at me, "Let's get you cleaned up first. You're a mess!"

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Alright so what did you guys think?


	4. Chapter 4: Jack

**(Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable from Newsies or Les Mis!)**

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"I've sold ten paps so far, how 'bout you?" Mush, a Newsie, says to me as we walk down the street. I turn to him, "I can sell more paps if you wouldn't steal my route." He gives me a playful grin and laughs, "You says Newsies can go where ever they wants to, but if we get in the way of each other's routes then yous gonna get it." I nod smiling at him, "Al'ight, you take this side of the street and I will takes this side." We separate and Mush goes left and I go right.

"Come get your paper! People run in panic from train crash! Police confused! Get your pap!" A man in a nice suit comes to me and buys a pap and I try to give a nice smile, "Thank you sir. Enjoy your pap!" I say and keep walking. I come across the CLEANHOUSE and smile. Ol' McKeeter always buys a paper. I open the door and hear the bell ring. Mr. McKeeter turns and sees me.

"Ah, Jack. I was waitin' for you to come give me a paper. What's new today?" he sounds worse than he did a yesterday.

"Ah, just another train crash. How's your cold Mr. McKeeter?" The old man shakes his head, "I'm fine, I'm fine. The doctor is getting a new shipment of medicine today so I will get something for this cough." He coughs hard into a handkerchief then shoves it in his pocket. He pulls out some money and drops it into my hand and takes a paper.

"How's business Mr. McKeeter?" I say sitting down in a chair across from him. He looks at me from over the paper, "I've got two people right now, but today has been a little slower than usual. More people are starting to clean at their house, but I have a few faithful customers." He looks at me and I smile, "Mr. McKeeter, I need to clean meself off a bit." He is about to protest but I walk to a pump by the wall and pump water into a bucket. I cup my hands and dip it in the cold water. I bring it to my face. "Ah, that's refreshin'. Thanks Mr. McKeeter!" I get out the money he gave me for the newspaper and put back in his hand adding the money the man in the suit gave.

"Jack Kelly! This is too much money!" Mr. McKeeter starts to get out of his chair and I am ready to make an argument, when the door to one of the private cleaning rooms opens. Two girls walk out of it. I recognize one of them. Alyson Martin and I see that the other one is the new girl from the mud pit. Mr. McKeeter turns to them and smiles, "All done girls?"

"Yes sir," Alyson says then sees me standing by him, "Well if it isn't Jack Kelly." She smiles. "Jack, I don't think you've met Amy yet. She is going to work at the mud pit from now on."

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I smile shyly at Jack, who is standing next to the old man, Mr. McKeeter I think it is, and he gives me a sly grin in return.

"Is that so? Why would you work at the mud pit of all places?" Everyone stares at me and I bite my lip, "Well, um….. It was the only job I knew of." Mr. McKeeter nods then turns to Jack, "Here let me give you some change." He starts to move over to a cash register but Jack stops him, "Nah that's alright Mr. McKeeter. I needs to get back to me paper route," he turns to Alyson and me and nods giving a sheepish grin, "I'll see you two later." Without another word he walks out the door. I stare at the door for a moment, and then turn to Mr. McKeeter, "Thank you for letting us wash up Mr. McKeeter." Alyson giggles and Mr. McKeeter smiles, "That's what I am here for."

Alyson leads me, blushing, out of the CLEANHOUSE then burst out laughing, "Thank you for letting us wash Mr. McKeeter" she mimicks and begins to laugh again. "Of all the silly things to say! What are you, a High Society girl?" Her laugh turns into a cackle and an occasional snort.

"Well, isn't it nice to give appreciation every once in a while?" I ask staring down at my feet. Alyson snorts and says, "By going to his Cleanhouse you show appreciation. He doesn't get lots of people these days and he loves when people come in."

"Oh," I say and look up ahead. I raise an eyebrow as I see Marcus looking around, heading for a shop. Alyson smiles when she sees him, "Oh poor Marcus, looking around to see if Ep is around. She adores him and she annoys him. I feel sorry for the guy. Everyone in the mudpitt is always so awkward towards him because of Ep. Wish I could help him somehow." She stops in front of a bread shop, "Do you mind if we hurry and go in here?" I shake my head and we enter the shop a bell ringing, announcing our entrance. Alyson walks quickly over to the counter where a big man stands with his back turned to us.

"Mr. Baker, I am here to buy me usual," Alyson says and the man turns around. He has chubby cheeks, a big nose, and deep, rich, brown eyes. He is probably in his late 30's early 40's.

"Ah, Miss Martin, excellent," his voice booms. The big man turns and walks down to wear there are several shelves full of loaves of bread and pulls one out. He wraps it up to keep in the warmth, the brings it back to us, handing it to Alyson, "There you are." She hands him $0.05 and we head out.

"I should probably head home and give this to me ma," Alyson says stopping just outside the bakery, "I will see you tomorrow!" She turns and runs off, leaving me confused and lost next to the bakery. I look around and realize I have forgotten my way home. I can't even spot the mud pit anymore.

* * *

Dun dun dun! So let me know what you think. Should I keep going with this story or just drop it?


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